Not Enough Time
by turtlesparadise
Summary: Inspired somewhat by the INXS song of the same title - Shameless Cloud/Reno shipping; one-shot, basically a little synopsis of their evolving attraction over the years, and their conflicting feelings over their inevitable draw toward one another. Sort of a love-letter to my OTP of Cloud and Reno chronicling how they met and became involved with one another.


**Usual disclaimer: Don't own them, wish I did. This is written for fun and not profit.**

 **Summary:** **Inspired somewhat by the INXS song of the same title - Shameless Cloud/Reno shipping; one-shot, basically a little synopsis of their evolving attraction over the years, and their conflicting feelings over their inevitable draw toward one another. Sort of a love-letter to my OTP of Cloud and Reno.**

* * *

 **I.**

 _Sector Five Church, Midgar_

"Come on, guys. And remember, we need her _alive_ ," Reno barked his orders at the Shinra infantry that had accompanied him to the dilapidated old church in Sector Five, where they knew the Ancient to be hiding out. "Anyone else in the way, though...is fair game." The Turk set his lips in a thin line, his expression determined and focused as he scanned the area for any sign of that telltale pink hair ribbon.

Aerith had been surprisingly elusive despite making little effort to hide herself, or so Reno thought. She hadn't taken any pains to disguise her appearance, yet still she kept slipping through the Turks' hands. Reno also suspected that Tseng had been keeping her whereabouts unknown from the executive board, but now a presidential order had come down to the Turks - to find and capture the last known Cetra.

"Sir!" Private Galen called over to the Turk. "Just talked to one of the locals. Apparently there was a commotion here, and a loud noise - "

"Private...this is the _slums_ ," Reno countered, nonplussed. Really, some of these grunts were a little too over-eager to impress, and Reno found it somewhat annoying. They were like untrained puppies, some of them. "There's always something going on below the Plate, ya know? Loud noises ain't a thing."

"Well...this sounded unusual. Something - or someone - fell through the roof of that church," Private Galen continued, pointing.

Suddenly Reno found this little tidbit of information mildly interesting. "Really, now? Well, then...why didn't you say so!"

Private Galen sighed inwardly, adjusting his standard-issue Mako rifle over his shoulder. He wanted to counter Reno's remark, but wisely decided to stay silent and await further orders.

"Wait for my signal," Reno said in a low tone, waving the troopers back as he entered the church. He blinked, surprised to see so much light illuminating the interior.

 _A church in the slums, under the plate but shrouded in daylight. Who would've thunk?_ He stepped forward, slowly, his heavy boots creating footfalls that echoed off of the stone walls of the church. Up front, toward the altar, was a patch of white-and-yellow lilies. Reno's mouth fell open slightly and he drew in a sharp breath, inhaling the sweet scent of the blooms.

 _Flowers growing below the Plate. Man...Tseng was right about her. She must be something special after all._ He saw the flower girl kneeling toward the front of the church, tending to the lilies. Just behind her, standing there with his arms folded across his chest, was a blond male Reno did not recognize at first sight - though he did recognize the uniform the man was wearing.

 _That's a SOLDIER uniform. I don't recognize this guy, who the hell is he?_

As the Turk drew closer, the Ancient stood up, and exchanged some words with the blond man that Reno could not quite hear.

"Listen...dude, I don't know who you are, but I'm here to talk to the Ancient. So if you'll kindly get out of my way - "

"No," came the curt reply. "I know who you are...and you're not talking to her. Piss off."

Reno's lips drew back in a sneer, and he tapped his electro-mag against his shoulder. "If you know who I am, then you know what it is that I do. And you must be pretty damned stupid to be mouthing off like that."

"The uniform. Of course I know who you are." The blond took two steps forward, eyes boring into the Turk's own. Reno held steady, but felt his gut clench as the blond just _stared_ at him. He wasn't afraid - there wasn't much left on the Planet that scared Reno - but those eyes. He swallowed around the dry lump in his throat, trying to dispel the wild cacophony of thoughts that had suddenly invaded his brain.

 _Mako eyes. Then he **must** be SOLDIER. I swear I don't know who he is, but -_

And yet there was something familiar in how the mysterious blond held himself, how he cocked his head to the side, how he mouthed off fearlessly to a Turk. A shaft of daylight filtered through the rotted hole in the roof, glinting off of the hilt of a massive sword that the blond carried on his back, nearly the same height as the blond.

"Cloud, come on!" The Ancient was calling to the blond, waving him behind the altar, toward a side alcove of the church. "This way!"

Reno yelled for the infantry, warning them not to tread on the flowers; the troopers barged into the church while the Turk ran in a daze toward the two who were escaping, unable to shake the image of those glowing Mako eyes. It was as if they had seared some part of his psyche, his soul, and he was in a complete mental fog for a few moments.

"Sir! Don't step on the flowers!" Reno looked down dumbly, crushed white-and yellow blooms withering beneath his feet.

" _Shit_ ," Reno muttered to himself. "The Ancient's getting away, let's move it!"

 _Cloud, huh? I've got my eye on you now, buddy,_ Reno thought grimly as he pursued the pair. _Nobody gets in the way of Reno of the Turks!_

* * *

 **II.**

 _Sector Seven Pillar_

As the rest of AVALANCHE clambered up onto the steel ladders that surrounded the massive support pillar of Sector 7, Reno paced nervously, knowing he had a job to do - that he _would_ do, no matter what, orders were orders and he was a Turk after all. The internal conflict he felt, however, was tearing at his heart. To President Shinra, this was just the slums. The people who lived below the Plate hardly counted as human to him. Yet at one time, Reno was one of them, as were his parents and his sister.

They were all dead now, and that was how Reno reconciled himself with what he had been ordered to do - the wholesale destruction of an entire Sector, just to set up AVALANCHE to take the fall. It was a smear campaign gone mad, and while Reno did not wholeheartedly agree with the plan, this was a direct order from the President. It was not something he could easily ignore.

Reno was bent over the control panel, having placed the explosives all around the emergency plate-release system that held up the massive support pillar. The bombs in question had been designed by Reno's mentor - Legend of the Turks, a much-renowned member of the Department of Administrative research who was valued as a demolitions expert. Reno knew exactly how deadly and effective they would be; he'd seen Legend in action with the devices. Detonated correctly, they would cause mass destruction and leave no survivors, and that was what Reno was counting on. He wasn't sure if he could live with himself if there were any survivors after he pushed the button.

 _It's just a job,_ Reno told himself. _Just a job. Just following orders, don't think about it too much or you'll make yourself crazy._ Reno was, in a strange way, glad that his family was already dead. At least they wouldn't be killed as a result of his actions. Seizing onto that thought, Reno believed that he might even be able to live with himself after all was said and done.

 _Maybe._

 _Don't **think**_ \- Reno told himself angrily, but was interrupted by a shout from behind him. He whirled around, groaning inwardly as he saw AVALANCHE ascending the platform, Cloud leading the pack, his eyes full of blue fire.

"Don't do it!" Cloud shouted, already drawing his sword. "What the hell is wrong with you! There are people down there, you're going to kill an entire sector of people to make a point? To make AVALANCHE look _bad_?"

"Fuck you," Reno shot back, none-too-eloquently. "You ain't no fucking saint either Cloud, none of you are. How many reactors did you and your little friends blow up now, huh? You think those reactors just blew up in a vacuum and didn't affect anyone else? People died there too, ya know!"

"Two wrongs don't make a right," Cloud replied glibly and Reno laughed at the simplicity of his words. Barret was squawking now, trying to drown Cloud out with his curse-laden insults toward Shinra and the Turks.

"Goddamned Shinra lapdog!" Barret shouted angrily. He was almost comical in his rage that Reno nearly laughed, but caught himself. Even he wasn't _that_ much of an asshole…usually.

"Can't you think fo' yo'self?" Barret continued bellowing, and Reno rolled his eyes.

"Shut up," Reno snapped, fingering the detonator, just inside his jacket pocket. His patience was running thin; he should just blow everything up now, and these assholes along with the rest of Sector Seven."

"Reno, I am begging you, _don't do this_ ," Cloud shouted over Barret, and Reno felt his words like a stab to the heart. _Why do I have to develop a fucking conscience now? Just **kill him**..._

Yet Reno paused, glancing up at the swordsman - still curious about who he really was, and how he ended up in Midgar in a SOLDIER uniform. SOLDIER was all but an anecdote in history books by now, Shinra's poster boy Sephiroth believed to be dead – how could there be anyone left? All the other firsts were dead – Angeal was KIA, Zack was KIA, and Genesis…

Well, they'd never actually found a body, had they? Was Cloud some sort of clone of Genesis? Reno didn't think that was the case, he'd seen the Genesis clones, killed plenty of them himself. No, this Cloud was his own man, or seemed to be. How he came to possess a SOLDIER uniform was a puzzle that had been bugging Reno ever since that day they'd crossed paths in the old church, but the Turk hardly had time to ruminate on that now. He had a job to do, and AVALANCHE was threatening to get in the way.

 _I know I should just fucking finish him off him already, but…I don't want to kill him until I know more - there's something weirdly familiar about him -_

Reno was startled out of his brief reverie by gunshots; Barret had locked and loaded and began firing his gun-arm at the Turk. Reno roared in fury, casting Pyramid on the man, effectively halting his attack. Tifa launched herself at the Turk, fists flying, knocking Reno on his ass more than once. Cloud charged at Reno as Tifa attempted to destroy the pyramid around Barret before his oxygen was depleted. The Buster sword clashed loudly against Reno's EMR, and the two combatants nearly pressed their foreheads against each other.

"Back off, Cloud," Reno grinned viciously, licking his lips. Reno was so close to Cloud he could smell him – that combination of male sweat, the unmistakable tang of Mako that ran through his blood. Oh yeah, he'd definitely had the Mako protocol that anyone who'd been part of SOLDIER had been subjected to. It was working on Reno like a pheromone, and he cursed his own lust and weakness. _Keep it in your pants, Turk…for fuck's sake!_

"You first," Cloud taunted right back, smirking. The tension between the two was palpable, the heat born of battle threatening to mix with unbridled lust.

Reno could see in his mind's eye, his lips locking with Cloud's, and he gave himself a mental head-slap, wondering how that thought had worked its way into his brain. Shocked by the raw nature of his feelings, he took a step back, widening the distance between himself and Cloud. He didn't like how jumbled his thoughts were, and his inner turmoil was threatening to throw him off focus, something he couldn't allow to happen. Every battle with Cloud felt like a dance, every stand-off like foreplay. Cloud reached out to Reno, grabbing at his arm; the Turk growled and pulled away quickly, angry at his himself and his conflicted feelings. _This guy's trying to kill me, and I want to kiss him? What the hell?_

But Cloud hadn't gone that far yet, Reno realized; he hadn't caused anything close to a potentially mortal wound. Reno's instinct told him that Cloud was holding back on the amount of damage he could cause, and the Turk suddenly realized that he was doing exactly the same thing.

 _But why?_

"Is that all you've got?" Reno smirked right back, pointing his mag-rod again at Tifa, then Barret, casting Pyramid on both in a nearly simultaneous motion. The chopper was nearby, circling, ready to whisk Reno back to safety, and as the rope ladder swung within reach, Reno grabbed hold of it, waving cheerily at AVALANCHE as he pressed the detonator. He felt an odd pang in his chest despite his false happy bravado, realizing that this might be the last he'd ever see of Cloud Strife.

Reno was leaving Cloud with an impossible choice - to die with his friends; to try and save them; or to try and stop the bomb from detonating. Cloud began destroying the barrier pyramids surrounding his friends immediately, finally freeing them after a few anxious minutes. Reno didn't wait around to see what their fate would be; his sense of self-preservation was stronger than any concern for others.

 _Mama...forgive me. I'm just doing my job_. From the safety of the helicopter, Reno watched as the bombs began to go off, one by one, just the way Legend had designed them with absolute precision. _Pretty maids all in a row_ , Legend had called them. _Glorious little daisy chains of death._ That was Legend; so flashy, so colorful. He'd taught Reno and Rude everything they knew about explosives, but neither one of them could get the devices up to quite the destructive power that Legend had been capable of doing.

As he sat aboard the helicopter staring out the windscreen, Reno was in a daze, not realizing that Rude was speaking to him until a good ten minutes later. He'd been sitting there; staring at the pillar as it blew up, piece by piece, wondering just what Legend would be thinking right now if he knew that his bombs had just been used to wipe out an entire sector.

"Rude...I'm not feeling so good," Reno finally muttered. He flinched, ears ringing as the deafening roar of the plate dropping behind them drowned out everything else.

"Take us to Costa. I need a fucking vacation."

* * *

 **III.**

 _Outside Gongaga_

Several months had passed since Reno initially encountered Cloud in the church - and much to the Turks' chagrin, the man had ultimately gotten away with the Ancient and the rest of AVALANCHE, even upon their capture and imprisonment at Shinra Headquarters. Upon his return to Headquarters, Reno had dug up any and all records he could find on this strange man in a SOLDIER uniform, with the glowing Mako eyes. He couldn't get him out of his head, no matter how hard he tried.

Reno had been surprised when he heard that Cloud and the rest of AVALANCHE had been arrested and brought in; he was certain none of them made it out of Sector 7 alive that day.. Somehow the blond swordsman and his friends had survived the Plate-fall, and it seemed that Shinra wasn't done with Strife or his group yet. Now the Turks had been ordered _not_ to kill Cloud and his friends; after their escape from Headquarters, Tseng gave the order to his Turks to tail Cloud, and follow him wherever he went. Now it was Sephiroth they were after, and the Promised Land.

 _Whatever the hell that is,_ Reno thought sourly. He thought this 'Promised Land' talk was just bullshit, some mumbo-jumbo cooked up by the hippies who smoked too much weed and sat around the sacred flame at Cosmo Canyon, but the President was pinning all of his hopes for Neo-Midgar on this folly. Besides, Reno had another mystery to unravel to keep himself busy. Reno had gathered all the files he could on Cloud Strife, not that there was much, and pored over it relentlessly, committing the material to memory.

 _Cloud Strife, born 11 August 1986 in Nibelheim. Only son of Claudia Strife. Father [ **name redacted** ] deceased. _ _Blood type AB, height 5'7", weight 145 pounds._

His academic records were unremarkable; he'd entered the Shinra military academy during his thirteenth year, shortly before his fourteenth birthday. His military records were even less impressive than his academic ones; considered to be underweight for SOLDIER, Cloud had failed to join those elite ranks, and served in the infantry instead, as a trooper. He never achieved higher than the rank of private. Reno thumbed through the ID photos attached to the file; Cloud was much smaller in musculature back then, he'd definitely beefed up quite a bit in the years since.

 _He was never in SOLDIER at all, then. So how in the hell did he get that uniform?_ Every lead Reno followed up led to nothing, and eventually the clues dried up altogether. Tseng told Reno, in so many words, to get his head out of his ass, and focus on following Cloud and AVALANCHE.

Soon Elena would their ranks, and Reno quickly had her trained and ready for her first missions in the field. The Turks tracked down AVALANCHE once again after an informant leaked a very useful bit of information, telling Reno that the 'spikey-haired blond SOLDIER and his group' had been spotted en route to Gongaga. Reno, Rude, and Elena caught up with them quickly. Reno found himself growing increasingly jittery the closer they got to closing in on Cloud and his group.

"So, Rude...who do you like?" Reno tended to run at the mouth when he was bored, nervous, or distracted - and at this moment, he was a combination of all three.

"...well," Rude thought about it for a moment. He hadn't really dated much since his ill-fated relationship with Chelsea had come to an abrupt end. "I suppose...Tifa is kind of nice."

"Nice?" Reno chortled. "Nice, he says. Dude, she's fucking gorgeous. And she can fight. I'm impressed, I've gotta admit. Awkward, though, since she's kinda the enemy."

"Yeah, well," Rude chuckled. "I really know how to pick them, don't I?"

"You and me both," Reno muttered, slowing his step as he fell back. Rude looked at him curiously, wondering just what was going on in his partner's brain. Elena, meanwhile, ever the eager rookie, had rushed on ahead as soon as she'd spotted Cloud.

"...Elena," Rude muttered, shaking his head. "She can be so impulsive - "

"Eh, she'll be all right," Reno waved his hand nonchalantly. "She's still a little bit green, but she learns fast. Hey, what about Elena though? I thought you liked her, Rude."

"Sure," Rude replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "I mean, she's nice. But...she likes Tseng, I think."

"Bummer, man," Reno said sympathetically. He sighed dramatically and kicked a rock on the dusty ground.

"So…who do you like, anyway?" Rude cocked an eyebrow, glancing at Reno.

"Me?" Reno laughed nervously. "Ah…nobody in particular…."

 _You fucking liar,_ Reno told himself silently, _'nobody in particular' is a hundred feet away – and it's impossible – you and Cloud…it's impossible, it can't ever happen -_ He pushed his thoughts back down again, tamped those pesky desires into the far, dark, corner of his mind.

Up ahead, he could hear Elena bantering with AVALANCHE, taunting them, challenging them to fight. Reno reluctantly shouldered his weapon, heart thudding against his ribcage as they advanced.

"Well, well, well," Reno drawled, staring straight at Cloud. "Cloud Strife, formerly of SOLDIER, hm? Refresh my memory...what class were you, anyway?" He hoped to throw the blond mercenary off; maybe he'd reveal where he'd gotten that uniform from. Reno didn't really care one way or the other, but he was a bit curious if Cloud had killed a SOLDIER and just stolen the uniform. Those uniforms weren't easy to come by, especially so many years after the program was shuttered following the Nibelheim incident.

Cloud's pupils narrowed, and then dilated, his eyes taking on a strange greenish glow as he stared at Reno.

"I'm – Cloud Strife. Ex-SOLDIER, First class." He stared blankly, staggering backward a few steps, an incredible pain searing through his head. Cloud's hand smacked up against his temples, trying to massage the pain away with his fingers.

"Cloud - are you okay?" Tifa's voice was full of concern, and Barret glared at Reno, stepping in front of Cloud protectively.

"I'm fine," Cloud muttered flatly, and he rejoined Barret on the front line. "Let's finish this."

 _Something is off. I know he's lying...but I don't think **he** knows he's lying. What the hell happened to you, Cloud Strife of Nibelheim? _ Reno's thoughts were running faster than the 5:10 Corel train, and he mentally kicked himself for even giving a damn about this cocky son of a bitch. So far, Cloud had done nothing but given Reno grief; kidnapping the Ancient (though it really did seem she'd gone willingly, the Turks were presenting it the other way around), beating the hell out of the troopers in the church, and evading the Turks at every turn.

"You know, you're full of shit," Reno mocked Cloud openly, jeering at him, trying once again to draw out the truth. Who the hell are you! "You're not in SOLDIER, you never _were_." Tifa gave Reno an odd look, and then set her jaw firmly, flying at Reno's head with a windmill kick, followed by a vicious right hook.

He laughed as he spat blood down on the dusty ground, shaking his head, though he couldn't get over the terrible feeling that he'd wounded Cloud more with his words more than his weapon ever could. That look on his face…Cloud knew his own story didn't add up, his identity was starting to unravel right in front of everyone's eyes.

Reno couldn't take this shit anymore. He didn't want to fight, but hell, Tifa had hit him first. "So….that's the way you want it, huh?" Reno wiped blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, a wicked gleam in his eye as he turned up the voltage on his mag-rod, letting fly with a Turk Light attack, stunning each foe momentarily, which only served to push their limit breaks. For a SOLDIER reject, Cloud was unbelievably strong, and Reno saw that he was improving constantly; just in the brief time since the Turk had met him, Reno saw Cloud's strength and precision growing tenfold. Reno couldn't help but feel a reluctant sort of admiration for that sort of determination.

The battle ended in a draw as it always seemed to; Reno retreating and still claiming victory over AVALANCHE as he always did. But he felt an unpleasant hollowness following this encounter. Taunting Cloud about his SOLDIER status, it hadn't ruffled the blond's feathers at all. In fact, it made Cloud appear even more confused.

 _I wish I had more time to figure this out. Rude would tell me it doesn't matter, but...I don't know. To me, it does._ Nothing bugged Reno more than an unsolved mystery, and Cloud was an enigma that continued to plague him, in more ways than one.

* * *

 **IV.**

 _Wutai - Da-chao_

This time, they were off-duty. Reno was firm about this as he dragged an exhausted Rude and Elena to Turtle's Paradise with one goal in mind; to get shit-hammered drunk. Maybe booze would take Reno's mind off of Cloud. The blond swordsman had been invading Reno's thoughts more than ever these days, and it pissed him off.

"Bourbon," Reno told the bartender. "Make it a double. Three of them," he added, pointing to his companions.

The three Turks enjoyed their drinks in relative silence until several Shinra troopers burst in, making a beeline right for the Turks. Reno groaned audibly.

"What is it now?" Reno muttered, making no attempt to disguise his irritation.

"Sir! We've spotted Cloud Strife and AVALANCHE in town here. They are in pursuit of the Kisaragi girl - "

"We're off duty," Reno interrupted rudely. Rude gave a quiet snort of laughter and knocked back the rest of his drink, ice cubes clinking against one another in the glass. "And the Kisaragi girl doesn't concern the Turks. Leave us alone, we're on vacation."

The trooper looked positively indignant at being dismissed so abruptly, and stood there with his mouth hanging open. Only Elena seemed to take any interest in the report that AVALANCHE had been sighted,

"Excuse us for a moment!" Elena told the troopers, and she turned to Reno and Rude, looking perplexed.

"Reno, I don't understand - aren't we going to do anything? We're Turks, after all!"

"Elena...like I told those chuckleheads over there," Reno gestured toward the Shinra troopers, "we're off duty. That means, no working until we clock back in."

"Well," Elena folded her arms across her chest, "I happen to take my job as a Turk very seriously!" Her tone was haughty, disapproving of what she perceived to be Reno's indifference to his duties.

Reno frowned at her, and blithely ordered another drink. "Listen...Elena. I take my job seriously too, make no mistake. But right now, we're off duty. Only a fool sacrifices themselves for the job. Remember that. My mentor told me that a long time ago, and they're words I've always taken to heart."

"Your mentor? Tseng?" Elena inquired, automatically assuming that Tseng was the mentor Reno was referring to. It certainly didn't sound like anything Tseng would have said, Elena mused.

"No...not Tseng...Legend, he was my mentor. He hasn't been around lately," Reno waved his hand. "I mean, I _get_ it, Elena - you're new, you want to prove yourself. But jumping into things impulsively isn't the way of the Turks."

"But - but - they're getting away!" Elena blurted, utterly frustrated at Reno and Rude's inaction.

Reno simply shrugged his shoulders and smirked at Elena. "It's not my problem."

"Well - somebody has to do something!" Elena snapped. She turned on her heel and stormed off, yelling at the Shinra troopers who were waiting by the door. Soon, they all filed out, Elena shouting orders to them. Rude stood up quickly, ready to follow, but Reno shook his head, motioning for him to sit.

"Let her get it out of her system, yeah?" Reno advised. "She wants to be doing something, not sitting around. A few more months in the field, she'll welcome quiet time like this, believe you me."

"Yeah," Rude nodded. "Suppose you're right about that."

Halfway into their fourth bourbon, who should come into the bar but the one who'd been on Reno's mind for days; the man who'd been haunting Reno's dreams. Dreams that woke him in the middle of the night, panting breathlessly, sweat-drenched sheets clinging to his body as he did gods-only-knew-what to himself.

Reno glared at the sudden appearance of Cloud, who had decidedly more clothing on than he did last night in Reno's erotic dream. "What the hell do you want? We're off-duty, so I'm not interested in chasing your ass all over Wutai."

"Shut up," Cloud shot back, and Reno openly grinned at him. _Feisty. I like that._

 _"_ It's about Yuffie. And Elena." Reno sat up at the mention of the rookie and glared at Cloud.

"What did you do to her!" Reno snarled, forgetting all about his lust-filled dreams of Strife. The swordsman sighed and shook his head.

"We didn't do anything to her, stupid," Cloud explained, growing annoyed. "It's Don Corneo - he's got Yuffie and Elena, and he'd holding them both hostage."

"Well, why didn't you say so?" Reno snapped. "So you need our help, then," Rude said gruffly.

"This way - " Cloud led the way, walking five paces ahead of the pair as he ushered them toward Da-Chao. As they scrambled up the sandy mountain paths, Reno lamely attempted small talk with Strife, though he tried to keep things on topic.

"I didn't even know Corneo was in Wutai," Reno glanced over at Cloud, walking up the mountain easily despite hauling around the massive weight of the sword on his back. "What's he want with Yuffie and Elena anyway?"

"He followed us," Cloud replied. "He has a score to settle with me, and he's using Yuffie to try to get to me. As for Elena...I think she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Is she new?"

"Yeah...she's new," Reno replied, sighing. This was all his fault, he felt, for not going to check on the rookie. Leave it to Elena to do something so impulsive, though. "What kind of beef does Corneo have with you, though?" Reno's curiosity was piqued now. "Listen, Cloud...I got no love for the man, so you can tell me. I'm dying to know. Anyone who pisses off Corneo is okay in my book."

Cloud's face broke into a broad grin at the question; they were nearly at the summit, and the sun shone from behind him, casting a golden glow around his head, almost like a halo. Reno stared dumbly for a moment, nearly losing his footing on the rocky path. Years later, he would recall that moment on a windswept mountain in Wutai and freeze it in his mind, recognizing it as the moment he fell in love with Cloud Strife.

"Well - Tifa infiltrated Corneo's mansion a few months back," Cloud went on. "So Aerith and I cooked up this plan - well, it was mostly _her_ idea - that we should present ourselves as...potential escorts to Don Corneo, and break Tifa out of there. But there was a catch."

"Hm?" Reno's steps grew faster, trying to keep up with Cloud. "What catch?"

"The catch was...that Don Corneo isn't into men," Cloud shrugged his shoulders. "So I dressed up like a girl...dress, heels, makeup...whole nine yards. Apparently it was convincing enough, because Corneo offered me marriage."

Reno burst out laughing, wiping his eyes. Cloud Strife, Mister Macho, dressed in drag, seducing Don Corneo? The image was both hilarious and horrifying, given what Reno knew about Don Corneo. The man wasn't just a lech - he'd been caught trafficking underage girls, a thing that had been swept under the rug because President Shinra himself was a frequent customer. Reno was used to having to look the other way quite a bit as a Turk, but that never sat well with him one bit.

"Seriously, yo?" Reno chortled. "So what did you do?"

Cloud chuckled. "Threatened to cut his balls off," he replied, laughing along with Reno. Their expressions utterly sobered as they reached the top, and saw Yuffie and Elena strapped to the side of Da-chao, Corneo threatening to drop them if the Turks or AVALANCHE came any nearer.

"Reno - you and Rude take care of Corneo, we'll take care of this!" Cloud shouted at the Turk as the pimp summoned his latest toy, Rapps. It wasn't long before Rapps was defeated, and Cloud came over to the cliff face, where a dangling Corneo was pleading for his life.

Cloud stared at Reno's face, contorted with rage as he bent over the squirming Corneo, and suddenly realized what a very precarious position the man was in - the Turks' feet were crushing the Don's fingers, grinding the very bones against the sandstone of Da-chao.

 _Guess he wasn't kidding about hating Corneo's guts,_ Cloud thought, mesmerized as Reno presented the pimp with a multiple choice question - a test that would result in failure, and death, no matter what the answer. Corneo's screams echoed off the canyon as he fell, stopping only when he hit the ground.

" _I'll give you a 'squashed tomatoes', you son of a bitch_!" Reno screamed over the edge of the cliff, spitting over it. " _That's for everyone you ever fucked over in Sector Seven_!" Rude moved quickly to free Elena, while Barret helped Yuffie down, already haranguing her about the stolen materia.

"Fine! I have your stupid materia - " Yuffie muttered,

"Reno - " Cloud began, but the Turk put up a hand to stop him.

"I don't want to talk about it," Reno cut him off. "Not now. See you around...Cloud." He departed with a wave of his hand and a crooked smirk, and turned his attentions back toward Elena, who insisted as they walked back toward the helicopter that she was _fine_ , _thank you very much_ , but Reno's guilt wouldn't allow him to leave her be.

"Yeah," Cloud stared after the retreating Turks, wondering what all that was about, what Reno had said about Sector 7. _Sector 7 was destroyed because of Reno's actions...why would he even care about what Corneo did to anyone there?_

Cloud couldn't figure Reno out for the life of him; he wondered what in the hell was wrong with his head, that he gave enough of a damn to be curious.

I shouldn't even care. I don't care, really….I don't. Cloud pushed the intrusive thoughts aside once again. Reno was like a bad penny, the way he kept turning up.

* * *

 **V.**

 _Midgar Sewers_

It was the end of the world as Reno knew it, and regrets – he had a few. Quite a few, and now that the end of everything was imminent, Reno didn't have enough time to list them all. After the death of President Shinra, and now with Meteor bearing down upon them, Reno wondered if the doomsday prophets who spouted off on street corners didn't have it right all along. Maybe he, Reno of the Turks, was finally being punished for his transgressions. Causing the destruction of Sector 7, leaving spouses widowed, children orphaned, hundreds injured or maimed.

 _They were all supposed to die quickly. Just...lights out, boom, all gone. Nobody was supposed to survive. Our calculations were off_. It was a lie he'd fed himself for so long that it almost seemed plausible, but lately Reno was starting to choke on it. He wondered what it would have been like that day if he'd never pushed that button. He would have been imprisoned, for sure, and probably tried for treason. He'd be stripped of his rank in the Turks. He'd have nothing.

"Well, I don't know how well this evac is gonna go, to be honest. Meteor's gonna crush us all, so what's the diff?" Reno said sourly to the other Turks as they navigated their way underground, in the sewers.

"We have to try," Rude replied, shrugging his shoulders. "I'll take Sector 2, Elena's got 3 - Reno, if you've got 4, we'll just meet up with Tseng in Sector 5."

"All right," Reno paused, calling the other two Turks over. "Fists in the middle, yeah?" They met in a small huddle, joining fists together in a show of solidarity.

"No matter what happens, it's been a pleasure and an honor working with the both of you, yeah? I mean it, yo." Elena's bottom lip quivered and Rude was even more quiet than usual.

"Reno!" Elena snapped in a shaky voice. "Stop talking like this is the end!"

"Yeah, well." Reno sniffled a bit and looked at Rude. "Partner...when it's all said and done? First round of drinks, I'm buying."

Rude snorted. "Not if I get there first." They all bumped fists again before parting, Reno shakily wondering if he would see his fellow Turks again for that promised round.

Reno was lost in those thoughts as he made his way down the sewer, bound for Sector 4, when he came face-to-face with Cloud and his team.

"Reno..." Cloud's voice was a quiet echo in the subterranean tunnel, and Reno could see and hear the members of AVALANCHE readying their weapons, seeming to wait for some word on whether to attack.

 _Oh...so Cloud's their leader now_ , Reno surmised, smiling tiredly. _Guess I should have seen it coming._ He stared at Cloud, sharp eyes taking everything in. Reno sensed that something had changed within Cloud, just from the way he presented himself now; even his body posture seemed different, his gaze was steady, and his countenance was less unsure.

Cloud's eyes still held that Mako glow that was freaky and mesmerizing all at once. That had not changed, but something else had, something intangible.

"We meet again, yeah?" Reno said quietly in the dank darkness of the sewer. He took a cigarette out of the package in his pocket and put it between his lips, shaking his head at Cloud's posse, poised and ready to fight.

"I'm not in the mood to fight, yo," Reno told the group in a worn-out tone. "Ya know...things are looking pretty bad out there - "

"I noticed," Cloud said dryly. "That giant meteor in the sky is probably a bad sign."

Reno laughed in spite of himself; he hadn't expected that sort of dry humor from Cloud. Now that he was thinking about it, Reno realized there was a lot he really didn't know about Cloud Strife - and a lot he hadn't _told_ him. There was also a lot Reno had yet to figure out for himself.

And now it was too late - there wasn't enough time, the world was _ending_ , and Reno hadn't figured out shit from shinola. Plus, he still had a sector to evacuate.

 _Oh yeah. That._

"Yeah. Meteor…definitely not a good sign. You guys…are still searching for Sephiroth then, yeah?"

Cloud gave Reno a strange look, and then shrugged his shoulders. "Well….we found him all right. At the Northern Crater. I don't even know if that…was Sephiroth. But I gave him the black materia." Cloud winced at the admission, and shook his head.

"I heard about that, yeah," Reno muttered. He gave Cloud a sympathetic look and a half-smile. "I guess this is where we've gotta say good-bye."

Barret grunted in disgust, and Cloud gave him a warning glare.

"What?" Barret snapped, annoyed. "This is so stupid. The hell, let's just go, unless you two are gonna kiss each other goodbye!" He snorted a laugh, and Tifa tittered nervously along with the others, but Reno and Cloud were not laughing.

"Well….good luck," Cloud said dumbly.

"Yeah," Reno muttered. "You too. Hey….go kick his ass, yeah? And when it's all over….I'll buy your first round, Cloud."

Cloud nodded, pinning Reno's eyes with his own.

"Sounds good."

* * *

 **VI.**

 _Edge, Post-Meteorfall_

Cloud had forgotten about Reno's offer to buy him a drink after the world nearly ended. It would be nearly a week before he crossed paths with Reno again, and the Turk immediately reminded him.

"Sure," Cloud was agreeable; everyone else, all his friends, the rest of AVALANCHE, were still trying to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives now that Sephiroth had been vanquished. They were no longer living on the edge, waiting for the next battle to occur; no longer living with the specter of Sephiroth and Jenova threatening them. Rufus Shinra, once he'd been located, even seemed to be turning over a new leaf. It seemed that nearly dying changed his way of thinking.

They'd _all_ changed; AVALANCHE, the Turks, everyone. And now Reno and Cloud, once two avowed enemies, sat face to face in a corner booth at Goblins bar – miraculously unscathed by the disaster – exchanging small talk over a couple of beers.

Cloud hadn't expected to open up to Reno the way he did, but the booze probably helped contribute to that. Reno, as it turned out, could be a very good listener when he made the effort. And Cloud told him everything. About handing the black materia over to Sephiroth, his Mako poisoning, his trip through the Lifestream – and piecing together his shattered mind. He even told him how he'd somewhat taken on the person of Zack, not even remembering who he was until after his mind was whole again.

"Zack was my best friend," Cloud murmured, draining his beer. Reno quickly signaled the waitress to order up another round. "He..was more than that, actually. And I completely forgot who he was." Cloud's cheeks reddened, and he grew silent.

"Wasn't your fault, man. What you went through…well, it'd make most people crack, you know? But you survived it, Cloud," Reno's expression was thoughtful, his tone quiet. "You survived it, and now here we are."

"Yeah," Cloud said softly. "Here we are…having a beer together." He chuckled, acknowledging the waitress with a nod as she brought the next round of beers, setting them down on the table.

Reno's features relaxed into a smile, and he leaned forward on his elbows, eyes alight with mischief. "You know….I wouldn't mind doing this again. Want to hang out again sometime?"

Cloud seemed taken aback at first, then smiled.

"Yeah. We can do that, Reno."

* * *

 _One year later_

Cloud sat in a booth at the diner, newly reopened in the west side of Edge, fingertips drumming nervously on the tabletop as he glanced out the window, looking for any sign of Reno.

The bells hanging on the door jingled as Reno flung the door open, making an immediate beeline for Cloud. "Hey baby." The Turk grinned, greeting the blond with a quick kiss before taking a seat. "So…what's going on? You seem kind of…nervous."

Cloud swallowed hard and pulled an envelope out of his pocket, unfolding the documents inside. "Yeah, well….I am, a little," he admitted. "I put down a deposit today. - on one of those new condos in downtown Edge." He smiled, pushing the document toward Reno.

"Holy shit," Reno breathed, utterly shocked. "You moved out of Seventh Heaven? Holy _shit_ , Cloud." The Turk laughed happily, realizing the significance of what Cloud was telling him, and _why_.

"You don't even have any furniture!" Reno blurted out suddenly, slapping his hand against his thigh, and Cloud laughed along with him.

"Yeah. I don't," Cloud admitted. "I figured we can pick out a few things together."

"Shit," Reno murmured, blinking away the annoying bit of moisture in his eyes. "Shit. Uh, yeah. We'll do that. Together." Reno ran his fingers through his hair, his mind hurriedly racing over the past twelve months. They'd begun as friends – reluctantly – and became lovers somewhat less reluctantly, once they'd realized they had more in common with one another. Though their first kiss, initiated by Reno, had ended up with Cloud punching the Turk in the jaw, it had been that unexpected – subsequent displays of affection were met with markedly less violence.

"We've come a long way, yeah?" Reno murmured, lacing his fingers with Cloud's as he smiled at him across the table.

"We have," Cloud agreed, smiling. "And we're not done yet."


End file.
